June 19, 2025 • 20 mins
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In this episode, I’m sharing three things God is gently teaching me in this current season of change—truths about limits, loss, and love that are reshaping how I live and lead. If you’re walking through transition, feeling the stretch between what was and what’s next, I pray this message will help you feel seen, strengthened, and reminded that God is faithful in every season.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Audrey (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to Grace From my Home.
I'm so glad to be back with youagain this week.
I've taken a short break overthe last month and maybe a
little over a month and playedsome of our most listened to
podcast episodes, but this weekI'm back with a new, brand new
(00:21):
episode.
This week I just want to giveyou a little life update, kind
of tell you what's going onaround here and just share some
things with you from my heart.
These five weeks that I wasn'trecording a regular podcast, I
was working on a lot of projectsand of course you know you
(00:41):
never get done everything youwant to get done.
I had big goals but I did get alot done.
Not necessarily everything Iwant to get done, but I got a
lot done.
But I want to just kind of talkwith you today about you know
what the Lord is teaching me inthis season.
We're always learning.
You know, if we're smart, if wewant to grow, then we have to
(01:01):
always be learning.
You know if we're smart, ifwe're, if we want to grow, then
we have to always be learning.
You know I'm in a.
I'm in a, just to give you alittle background.
I'm in a place where I've neverbeen this year.
I had one child.
My oldest son graduated fromhigh school.
(01:22):
So I have a high schoolgraduate and I'm so extremely
proud of him.
He's working this summer andhe'll start in the fall.
He's in Honors College atCoastal Carolina University and
we're so proud of him.
He's going to stay on campusand we think that's a great idea
.
We think that'll be wonderfulfor him.
(01:43):
And then my middle son he'll bea senior next year and he's
already looking at colleges.
He wants to play football onthe college level and so we're
looking at some schools and he'sbeen traveling and he's got
lots of camps this summer andthings like that.
And then my youngest son he'llbe a sophomore in high school
(02:03):
next year and they were allhomeschooled and if you listen
to the podcast, you know that Ihomeschooled all of them up
until through the eighth gradeand then they entered into
public high school.
And so this past year was myfirst year in the last 12 years
where I did not homeschool.
But they have done great,they've done well and I'm very
(02:26):
proud of them.
In the last, since March, myhusband stepped down as the
pastor of our church, where hehad served in that role for 16
years.
He is also the principal at thehigh school where my boys
attended, which made theirtransition easier.
For me, I'll admit we have aunique situation, but he stepped
(02:49):
down as the lead pastor of ourchurch and it just had become
too much.
He was a full-time pastor,full-time principal and working
on his PhD and just didn't feellike he was doing either job
well and after prayer, hebelieved that the Lord had
showed him that it was time forhim to step aside.
Well, we, in a lot of ways, didthat role together because he
(03:12):
was full-time in the publicschool system.
We tag-teamed as far asspeaking on Sunday.
I helped him in a lot of waysand I felt like it was
appropriate, when he steppeddown, for me also to give up a
lot of those roles andresponsibilities.
That's something that we'vedone together for 16 years.
(03:33):
So we are in a state oftransition.
One of the things I am stilldoing is I'm managing the coffee
shop that our church owns, andI do that with my sister.
We opened that.
This summer will be two yearssince we opened and so, if you
do, if you were a longtimelistener, you've heard the story
.
You've heard.
As you know, as we opened twoyears ago and I've been
(03:57):
podcasting here at Grace for myhome this, it will be my fourth
summer.
So for three years I'vepodcasted and blogged and I'm
going into my fourth year andI've just been reflecting a lot
lately, thinking because whenyour oldest child graduates, you
do a lot of soul searching andI'm sure you ladies who have
(04:18):
multiple kids, who have left thehome and gone into the world
and graduated and even even, youknow, married with kids I
haven't gotten there yet, butI'm sure you understand how, at
each junction it's kind of likea reflection, like did I do it
right?
You know, did I do the rightthings?
Did I do enough of the rightthings?
Did I do you know too much ofthe wrong things?
(04:40):
And so you know I'm I'mnaturally an introvert and I
self-reflect and I like to thinkabout things.
And just the last few monthsI've had a lot on my mind and
that was one of the reasons Iwanted to take a break was
because when I'm constantlypouring out and pouring out,
it's hard to fill up, it's hardto hear God, you know, and we
(05:03):
really need to hear from theLord, not just to pour out to
other people, not just to hear aword or a message for someone
else, but for yourself, and Ihad gotten to a point where I
wasn't doing that.
You know, every time I came tothe Lord and I was reading the
word, I'm thinking who can Ishare this with?
Or, you know, lord give me amessage that people need to hear
(05:26):
this week.
And so I needed some time whereI just talked to the Lord for
me, and so this short break Ihad helped me, it gave me an
opportunity to do that, and I'mthankful.
I'm thankful for that.
So thank you for being patientwith me, thank you for coming
back, but I want to share withyou today three things that I've
(05:46):
learned in this season, in theseason that I'm in, the season
of change, and I hope that thesethings will encourage you.
I could list more than three,but I want to keep it short.
So, three things that I'velearned in this season.
The first is I can do anything,but I can't do everything.
(06:07):
You know, we have such freedomin Christ.
God gives us such freedom tochoose the things that we want
to do with our lives.
You know, we live in a countrywhere we have that freedom to
choose.
You know what direction do wewant to go in?
And, of course, hopefully, ifyou love the Lord, if you
(06:30):
believe the Lord and trust him,then you pray about those
decisions.
But there's such flexibilityand I have I'm a dreamer I have
all these ideas.
You know, at any given day Ihave all these ideas floating
around in my head, things I'dlike to do, I'd love to do.
And you know, when I was youngerI felt like I could do anything
(06:52):
.
But when you get older, yourealize that you, number one,
you don't have the time.
But when you get older, yourealize that you, number one,
you don't have the time, likethe time left.
You know, I'm past 50 now and,unless I, you know, live to be
104, I'm over halfway.
And so when you pass those milemarkers, you start thinking you
know, am I doing the rightthings?
Am I doing the things I'msupposed to be doing?
(07:13):
Because this time really matters, and so we can't do everything.
And you know, my body tells me,you know, you can't do it.
All the days, the weeks, themonths that I think I can, and I
keep pushing and, pushing andpushing, my body comes back and
says no, you can't.
And so we have to choose wiselywhat we're going to do.
(07:33):
We can do anything, but wecan't do everything, and we have
to choose what things are mostimportant.
And so during this time it has,during this time of transition,
during this time of change,it's really made me think what
am I supposed to be doing?
You know I don't, I can't do itall.
I have a wonderful.
What am I supposed to be doing?
You know I don't, I can't do itall.
(07:54):
I have a wonderful, I havewonderful ideas and things I
would love to do, but what arethe most important things?
You know, if I had 10 yearsleft, what would I want to be
able to say at the end of that10 years that I accomplished?
And so, you know, when timegets shorter, we hopefully get
more focused.
And so that's one of the thingsthat I've learned over this
(08:15):
period of transition is I can doanything, but I can't do
everything.
Number two is is that it's okayto grieve and to grow at the
same time.
You know, I come to you eachweek and I don't like to share
with you a lot of the strugglesthat I'm going through, because
I like to show those on theother side.
(08:35):
You know, if I'm in the middleof the struggle I don't know
that that's very helpful.
It might be more discouragingthan encouraging.
I like to share my strugglesafter I've reached the other
side and I can look back and saylook where God has brought me.
But I've been through somestruggles that just don't seem
to be letting go.
But I've realized during thisperiod that I can both celebrate
(09:02):
what God's doing in me now atthe same time that I am grieving
the things that I miss.
I told you about homeschooling.
I loved homeschooling, loved itfor 12 years.
You know I had my children hereunder my roof and and we read
together, we had nature walksand we had fun breakfasts
(09:27):
together where we diddevotionals and we just.
I enjoyed homeschooling and Ienjoyed my children.
And when my last one last year,when Caleb went to public
school it wasn't easy for me Iremember he would go with me to
the coffee shop on the days thatI worked and he would help me
(09:47):
in the afternoon when thingscalmed down.
There we would do hisschoolwork and you know, and
then after work each day I go tothe bank and make a deposit and
he would sit in the car andlisten to the radio or do
something while I was in thebank.
When I got out he'd always bewaiting on me.
And last year, when he went topublic school and I would come
(10:10):
out of the bank and I would getyou know, get into my van and he
wasn't there.
I missed him.
You know, those days when I gotup early and to go and he
wasn't there.
I missed him, you know, andbecause he was my last, and I
missed those days on the couchwith all of my boys, and the
fact that that time was overmade me really sad and I
(10:33):
couldn't shake it.
I knew it was a good, I knew itwas good, I knew it was right,
I knew they had made the rightdecision and that I had made the
right decision to homeschoolthem.
And then they had made theright decision that it was time
to go to public school and Godhad answered our prayers by
leading us and guiding us.
But I still missed him and Imissed them and I missed our
(10:54):
life.
I missed our homeschool life,you know, and even now, with the
church and you know I'm stillclose to everyone in that church
we left on wonderful terms.
That's my family, you know, andwe're still there, actually,
we're still members of thatchurch.
That's our church, but it'sdifferent, you know.
It's different.
(11:15):
Trying to find your place,trying to back up so other
people can lead.
That's not easy and there's agrieving process.
You know.
There's a realignment.
You know, lord, what are youdoing here and now?
When I look back at these twothings that seem to have been
(11:37):
removed from my life, I seewhere these other things got
added before those things weretaken away.
That really helped.
You know, I think sometimes asmoms you know, homeschool moms,
stay at home moms we get sowrapped up in that life that
when it's over and it is anassignment, it is a season, it's
(11:58):
not a forever assignment.
I mean I'll always be a mom,but that part of motherhood is
gone.
And I think if the Lord knew Iwas going to need other things,
and so I'm very thankful for thepodcast and blogging and for
(12:18):
the coffee shop, because thatgives me a place where I can
serve, I can love others, I canpour out in another way, and I
didn't realize how much I wasgoing to need that.
And so you know it, just thosethings God knew and he leads us,
he sets things up for us.
So I'm very thankful for that.
But I've learned during thisseason that I can grieve it's
(12:42):
good to grieve things that youlove, that are gone, and at the
same time I can grow.
I don't have to stop doing oneto do the other, and that's good
.
You know to do the other, andthat's good.
You know.
The third thing that the Lord isteaching me and has been
teaching me during this thing,that my role as a mom.
(13:03):
It's changing, but I'm stillneeded.
No, they, they need me, theyjust don't need me.
In the same way, I am becomingan advisor to my children, more
and more.
You know they they still,thankfully asked me for advice,
they asked me to pray.
I love it when I get a textfrom one of my boys and say mama
(13:25):
, please pray.
You know I've got this testcoming up.
Or, mama Remember, mama, pleasepray.
You know I've got this testcoming up.
Or Mama, remember this today.
I need you to pray for thisBecause, number one, it means
that they trust me with theirprayers, with the things that
are important to them, but alsothey trust God.
You know they believe in thepower of prayer, and so I'm
honored when they text me andsay, mama, I need you to pray
for this.
But now I'm more of an advisorNow and of course that's
(13:52):
different for the 18-year-oldversus the 14-year-old, but I'm
learning, and they're learningthat our roles have changed.
My oldest has done some thingsand I so didn't want him to do
it.
I'm like, no, that's not wise,don't do that.
But sometimes you have to dothose him to do it.
I'm like, no, that's not wise,don't do that.
But sometimes you have to dothose things to learn them.
You know me telling you not todo them.
(14:14):
That doesn't help you at alldown the road.
We often, you know we can giveour children wisdom, but there
comes a time when all we can dois give it.
We can't make them do the rightthings, and that's really true
even when they're small, butwhen they get older, we can't
make them.
I mean, even if we want to makethem, we can't make them.
(14:34):
And so I'm learning to let go.
I'm learning to let go.
I'm learning what my role is.
I'm learning that relationshipis still key.
When I have a strongrelationship with my children,
they care more about the thingsI want to share with them.
They want to know my opinion onthings Doesn't necessarily mean
(14:57):
they're going to take it, butthey care about my opinion.
My opinion matters to thembecause they know I care about
them.
And that's true not justbetween us and our children.
That's true for anyone, but I'mthankful for that tie between
me and my boys.
That's true for anyone, but I'mthankful for that tie between
me and my boys.
That is our relationship and Iwant to keep that strong.
And I'm learning.
I stumble, I fall, I mess upsometimes when it comes to
(15:19):
relationship, especially as myrole is changing.
But I'm learning that theystill need me.
You know I can't just say, well, ok, they're, they're grown now
, they're 18 or 17, 18.
They don't need mom anymore.
They do, and I want to be there, I want to be available when
they need me and in the way theyneed me.
And that goes right back to,you know, priority.
(15:40):
You know, during this season,like I said, the first thing, I
can do anything, but I can't doeverything.
And if I try to do everything,then I don't have time for them.
I don't have time for people.
You know, have you ever been sobusy and you're so, you stretch
so thin that everything isstressful, like you don't have
(16:02):
time to really stop and thinkand reflect, and you know it's
just like, oh, I got to get thenext thing done, I got to check
off the list, and you knowpeople are not on the list and
don't have time for that.
And that's why I want to becareful with my time, I want to
be careful with my energy,because I don't want to run out
of steam and not have any time,any energy, any strength for the
(16:25):
people, and especially for myfamily, for the people and
especially for my family.
And so during this season, youknow, though, I can look back
now and see where God has beenteaching me and training me.
At the time I didn't feel it atthe time, I just felt like this
is a hard season and I don'tlike it.
But I'm thankful that God isGod through the hard seasons,
(16:46):
through the good seasons,through the bad seasons.
He's never letting go, he lovesus, he's never letting go, he
loves us, he's committed to usand he's never letting go.
Amen.
Before I go, I want to share ascripture with you.
I want to read to you from 1Thessalonians 5, starting in
verse 23.
May God himself, the God ofpeace, sanctify you through and
(17:07):
through.
May your whole spirit, soul andbody be kept blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you isfaithful, and he will do it.
Amen, let's pray.
Father, I thank you that youknow what we need, even when we
think we know what we need, lord, you know what we really need
(17:29):
and you love us enough to bepatient with us and to lead us
and guide us, and sometimes youdon't give us what we want.
You give us what we need and Ipray that, lord, you would
revive us.
I pray for seasons ofrefreshing.
I pray, lord, god, for renewedhope.
I thank you, lord, that you'repruning us, that you're cutting
(17:50):
off the dead weight so that wecan be more fruitful.
I thank you that the best isyet to come and that you are
faithful and you're doing it,and we love you, lord, and we
give you honor in Jesus name.
Thank you for joining me hereagain this week.
I did get a lot done during myshort break.
(18:10):
I have my second book complete,or I should say it's the
manuscript is complete.
There's a lot of work to dowith proofing and editing and
those kinds of things.
But the hard work the hardestwork for me is done and I'm
excited about that.
In the next few weeks I willshare some of those things with
you.
I also have a live event comingup soon and I'm still ironing
(18:34):
out the details on that, but Iwill share that with you,
hopefully next week.
And I am working on my secondpodcast.
I want to do a daily devotionalpodcast just a verse and an
encouraging word to get yourmorning started.
That's something that's been onmy heart for a long time and
hopefully in the next few weeksI can get that underway.
(18:56):
God bless, hope you have agreat week.
See you again next week.
Hello and welcome back to Grace From my Home.
I'm so glad to be back with youagain this week.
I've taken a short break overthe last month and maybe a
little over a month and playedsome of our most listened to
podcast episodes, but this weekI'm back with a new, brand new
(00:21):
episode.
This week I just want to giveyou a little life update, kind
of tell you what's going onaround here and just share some
things with you from my heart.
These five weeks that I wasn'trecording a regular podcast, I
was working on a lot of projectsand of course you know you
(00:41):
never get done everything youwant to get done.
I had big goals but I did get alot done.
Not necessarily everything Iwant to get done, but I got a
lot done.
But I want to just kind of talkwith you today about you know
what the Lord is teaching me inthis season.
We're always learning.
You know, if we're smart, if wewant to grow, then we have to
(01:01):
always be learning.
You know if we're smart, ifwe're, if we want to grow, then
we have to always be learning.
You know I'm in a.
I'm in a, just to give you alittle background.
I'm in a place where I've neverbeen this year.
I had one child.
My oldest son graduated fromhigh school.
(01:22):
So I have a high schoolgraduate and I'm so extremely
proud of him.
He's working this summer andhe'll start in the fall.
He's in Honors College atCoastal Carolina University and
we're so proud of him.
He's going to stay on campusand we think that's a great idea
.
We think that'll be wonderfulfor him.
(01:43):
And then my middle son he'll bea senior next year and he's
already looking at colleges.
He wants to play football onthe college level and so we're
looking at some schools and he'sbeen traveling and he's got
lots of camps this summer andthings like that.
And then my youngest son he'llbe a sophomore in high school
(02:03):
next year and they were allhomeschooled and if you listen
to the podcast, you know that Ihomeschooled all of them up
until through the eighth gradeand then they entered into
public high school.
And so this past year was myfirst year in the last 12 years
where I did not homeschool.
But they have done great,they've done well and I'm very
(02:26):
proud of them.
In the last, since March, myhusband stepped down as the
pastor of our church, where hehad served in that role for 16
years.
He is also the principal at thehigh school where my boys
attended, which made theirtransition easier.
For me, I'll admit we have aunique situation, but he stepped
(02:49):
down as the lead pastor of ourchurch and it just had become
too much.
He was a full-time pastor,full-time principal and working
on his PhD and just didn't feellike he was doing either job
well and after prayer, hebelieved that the Lord had
showed him that it was time forhim to step aside.
Well, we, in a lot of ways, didthat role together because he
(03:12):
was full-time in the publicschool system.
We tag-teamed as far asspeaking on Sunday.
I helped him in a lot of waysand I felt like it was
appropriate, when he steppeddown, for me also to give up a
lot of those roles andresponsibilities.
That's something that we'vedone together for 16 years.
(03:33):
So we are in a state oftransition.
One of the things I am stilldoing is I'm managing the coffee
shop that our church owns, andI do that with my sister.
We opened that.
This summer will be two yearssince we opened and so, if you
do, if you were a longtimelistener, you've heard the story
.
You've heard.
As you know, as we opened twoyears ago and I've been
(03:57):
podcasting here at Grace for myhome this, it will be my fourth
summer.
So for three years I'vepodcasted and blogged and I'm
going into my fourth year andI've just been reflecting a lot
lately, thinking because whenyour oldest child graduates, you
do a lot of soul searching andI'm sure you ladies who have
(04:18):
multiple kids, who have left thehome and gone into the world
and graduated and even even, youknow, married with kids I
haven't gotten there yet, butI'm sure you understand how, at
each junction it's kind of likea reflection, like did I do it
right?
You know, did I do the rightthings?
Did I do enough of the rightthings?
Did I do you know too much ofthe wrong things?
(04:40):
And so you know I'm I'mnaturally an introvert and I
self-reflect and I like to thinkabout things.
And just the last few monthsI've had a lot on my mind and
that was one of the reasons Iwanted to take a break was
because when I'm constantlypouring out and pouring out,
it's hard to fill up, it's hardto hear God, you know, and we
(05:03):
really need to hear from theLord, not just to pour out to
other people, not just to hear aword or a message for someone
else, but for yourself, and Ihad gotten to a point where I
wasn't doing that.
You know, every time I came tothe Lord and I was reading the
word, I'm thinking who can Ishare this with?
Or, you know, lord give me amessage that people need to hear
(05:26):
this week.
And so I needed some time whereI just talked to the Lord for
me, and so this short break Ihad helped me, it gave me an
opportunity to do that, and I'mthankful.
I'm thankful for that.
So thank you for being patientwith me, thank you for coming
back, but I want to share withyou today three things that I've
(05:46):
learned in this season, in theseason that I'm in, the season
of change, and I hope that thesethings will encourage you.
I could list more than three,but I want to keep it short.
So, three things that I'velearned in this season.
The first is I can do anything,but I can't do everything.
(06:07):
You know, we have such freedomin Christ.
God gives us such freedom tochoose the things that we want
to do with our lives.
You know, we live in a countrywhere we have that freedom to
choose.
You know what direction do wewant to go in?
And, of course, hopefully, ifyou love the Lord, if you
(06:30):
believe the Lord and trust him,then you pray about those
decisions.
But there's such flexibilityand I have I'm a dreamer I have
all these ideas.
You know, at any given day Ihave all these ideas floating
around in my head, things I'dlike to do, I'd love to do.
And you know, when I was youngerI felt like I could do anything
(06:52):
.
But when you get older, yourealize that you, number one,
you don't have the time.
But when you get older, yourealize that you, number one,
you don't have the time, likethe time left.
You know, I'm past 50 now and,unless I, you know, live to be
104, I'm over halfway.
And so when you pass those milemarkers, you start thinking you
know, am I doing the rightthings?
Am I doing the things I'msupposed to be doing?
(07:13):
Because this time really matters, and so we can't do everything.
And you know, my body tells me,you know, you can't do it.
All the days, the weeks, themonths that I think I can, and I
keep pushing and, pushing andpushing, my body comes back and
says no, you can't.
And so we have to choose wiselywhat we're going to do.
(07:33):
We can do anything, but wecan't do everything, and we have
to choose what things are mostimportant.
And so during this time it has,during this time of transition,
during this time of change,it's really made me think what
am I supposed to be doing?
You know I don't, I can't do itall.
I have a wonderful.
What am I supposed to be doing?
You know I don't, I can't do itall.
(07:54):
I have a wonderful, I havewonderful ideas and things I
would love to do, but what arethe most important things?
You know, if I had 10 yearsleft, what would I want to be
able to say at the end of that10 years that I accomplished?
And so, you know, when timegets shorter, we hopefully get
more focused.
And so that's one of the thingsthat I've learned over this
(08:15):
period of transition is I can doanything, but I can't do
everything.
Number two is is that it's okayto grieve and to grow at the
same time.
You know, I come to you eachweek and I don't like to share
with you a lot of the strugglesthat I'm going through, because
I like to show those on theother side.
(08:35):
You know, if I'm in the middleof the struggle I don't know
that that's very helpful.
It might be more discouragingthan encouraging.
I like to share my strugglesafter I've reached the other
side and I can look back and saylook where God has brought me.
But I've been through somestruggles that just don't seem
to be letting go.
But I've realized during thisperiod that I can both celebrate
(09:02):
what God's doing in me now atthe same time that I am grieving
the things that I miss.
I told you about homeschooling.
I loved homeschooling, loved itfor 12 years.
You know I had my children hereunder my roof and and we read
together, we had nature walksand we had fun breakfasts
(09:27):
together where we diddevotionals and we just.
I enjoyed homeschooling and Ienjoyed my children.
And when my last one last year,when Caleb went to public
school it wasn't easy for me Iremember he would go with me to
the coffee shop on the days thatI worked and he would help me
(09:47):
in the afternoon when thingscalmed down.
There we would do hisschoolwork and you know, and
then after work each day I go tothe bank and make a deposit and
he would sit in the car andlisten to the radio or do
something while I was in thebank.
When I got out he'd always bewaiting on me.
And last year, when he went topublic school and I would come
(10:10):
out of the bank and I would getyou know, get into my van and he
wasn't there.
I missed him.
You know, those days when I gotup early and to go and he
wasn't there.
I missed him, you know, andbecause he was my last, and I
missed those days on the couchwith all of my boys, and the
fact that that time was overmade me really sad and I
(10:33):
couldn't shake it.
I knew it was a good, I knew itwas good, I knew it was right,
I knew they had made the rightdecision and that I had made the
right decision to homeschoolthem.
And then they had made theright decision that it was time
to go to public school and Godhad answered our prayers by
leading us and guiding us.
But I still missed him and Imissed them and I missed our
(10:54):
life.
I missed our homeschool life,you know, and even now, with the
church and you know I'm stillclose to everyone in that church
we left on wonderful terms.
That's my family, you know, andwe're still there, actually,
we're still members of thatchurch.
That's our church, but it'sdifferent, you know.
It's different.
(11:15):
Trying to find your place,trying to back up so other
people can lead.
That's not easy and there's agrieving process.
You know.
There's a realignment.
You know, lord, what are youdoing here and now?
When I look back at these twothings that seem to have been
(11:37):
removed from my life, I seewhere these other things got
added before those things weretaken away.
That really helped.
You know, I think sometimes asmoms you know, homeschool moms,
stay at home moms we get sowrapped up in that life that
when it's over and it is anassignment, it is a season, it's
(11:58):
not a forever assignment.
I mean I'll always be a mom,but that part of motherhood is
gone.
And I think if the Lord knew Iwas going to need other things,
and so I'm very thankful for thepodcast and blogging and for
(12:18):
the coffee shop, because thatgives me a place where I can
serve, I can love others, I canpour out in another way, and I
didn't realize how much I wasgoing to need that.
And so you know it, just thosethings God knew and he leads us,
he sets things up for us.
So I'm very thankful for that.
But I've learned during thisseason that I can grieve it's
(12:42):
good to grieve things that youlove, that are gone, and at the
same time I can grow.
I don't have to stop doing oneto do the other, and that's good
.
You know to do the other, andthat's good.
You know.
The third thing that the Lord isteaching me and has been
teaching me during this thing,that my role as a mom.
(13:03):
It's changing, but I'm stillneeded.
No, they, they need me, theyjust don't need me.
In the same way, I am becomingan advisor to my children, more
and more.
You know they they still,thankfully asked me for advice,
they asked me to pray.
I love it when I get a textfrom one of my boys and say mama
(13:25):
, please pray.
You know I've got this testcoming up.
Or, mama Remember, mama, pleasepray.
You know I've got this testcoming up.
Or Mama, remember this today.
I need you to pray for thisBecause, number one, it means
that they trust me with theirprayers, with the things that
are important to them, but alsothey trust God.
You know they believe in thepower of prayer, and so I'm
honored when they text me andsay, mama, I need you to pray
for this.
But now I'm more of an advisorNow and of course that's
(13:52):
different for the 18-year-oldversus the 14-year-old, but I'm
learning, and they're learningthat our roles have changed.
My oldest has done some thingsand I so didn't want him to do
it.
I'm like, no, that's not wise,don't do that.
But sometimes you have to dothose him to do it.
I'm like, no, that's not wise,don't do that.
But sometimes you have to dothose things to learn them.
You know me telling you not todo them.
(14:14):
That doesn't help you at alldown the road.
We often, you know we can giveour children wisdom, but there
comes a time when all we can dois give it.
We can't make them do the rightthings, and that's really true
even when they're small, butwhen they get older, we can't
make them.
I mean, even if we want to makethem, we can't make them.
(14:34):
And so I'm learning to let go.
I'm learning to let go.
I'm learning what my role is.
I'm learning that relationshipis still key.
When I have a strongrelationship with my children,
they care more about the thingsI want to share with them.
They want to know my opinion onthings Doesn't necessarily mean
(14:57):
they're going to take it, butthey care about my opinion.
My opinion matters to thembecause they know I care about
them.
And that's true not justbetween us and our children.
That's true for anyone, but I'mthankful for that tie between
me and my boys.
That's true for anyone, but I'mthankful for that tie between
me and my boys.
That is our relationship and Iwant to keep that strong.
And I'm learning.
I stumble, I fall, I mess upsometimes when it comes to
(15:19):
relationship, especially as myrole is changing.
But I'm learning that theystill need me.
You know I can't just say, well, ok, they're, they're grown now
, they're 18 or 17, 18.
They don't need mom anymore.
They do, and I want to be there, I want to be available when
they need me and in the way theyneed me.
And that goes right back to,you know, priority.
(15:40):
You know, during this season,like I said, the first thing, I
can do anything, but I can't doeverything.
And if I try to do everything,then I don't have time for them.
I don't have time for people.
You know, have you ever been sobusy and you're so, you stretch
so thin that everything isstressful, like you don't have
(16:02):
time to really stop and thinkand reflect, and you know it's
just like, oh, I got to get thenext thing done, I got to check
off the list, and you knowpeople are not on the list and
don't have time for that.
And that's why I want to becareful with my time, I want to
be careful with my energy,because I don't want to run out
of steam and not have any time,any energy, any strength for the
(16:25):
people, and especially for myfamily, for the people and
especially for my family.
And so during this season, youknow, though, I can look back
now and see where God has beenteaching me and training me.
At the time I didn't feel it atthe time, I just felt like this
is a hard season and I don'tlike it.
But I'm thankful that God isGod through the hard seasons,
(16:46):
through the good seasons,through the bad seasons.
He's never letting go, he lovesus, he's never letting go, he
loves us, he's committed to usand he's never letting go.
Amen.
Before I go, I want to share ascripture with you.
I want to read to you from 1Thessalonians 5, starting in
verse 23.
May God himself, the God ofpeace, sanctify you through and
(17:07):
through.
May your whole spirit, soul andbody be kept blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you isfaithful, and he will do it.
Amen, let's pray.
Father, I thank you that youknow what we need, even when we
think we know what we need, lord, you know what we really need
(17:29):
and you love us enough to bepatient with us and to lead us
and guide us, and sometimes youdon't give us what we want.
You give us what we need and Ipray that, lord, you would
revive us.
I pray for seasons ofrefreshing.
I pray, lord, god, for renewedhope.
I thank you, lord, that you'repruning us, that you're cutting
(17:50):
off the dead weight so that wecan be more fruitful.
I thank you that the best isyet to come and that you are
faithful and you're doing it,and we love you, lord, and we
give you honor in Jesus name.
Thank you for joining me hereagain this week.
I did get a lot done during myshort break.
(18:10):
I have my second book complete,or I should say it's the
manuscript is complete.
There's a lot of work to dowith proofing and editing and
those kinds of things.
But the hard work the hardestwork for me is done and I'm
excited about that.
In the next few weeks I willshare some of those things with
you.
I also have a live event comingup soon and I'm still ironing
(18:34):
out the details on that, but Iwill share that with you,
hopefully next week.
And I am working on my secondpodcast.
I want to do a daily devotionalpodcast just a verse and an
encouraging word to get yourmorning started.
That's something that's been onmy heart for a long time and
hopefully in the next few weeksI can get that underway.
(18:56):
God bless, hope you have agreat week.
See you again next week.
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